A day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was demoralising for soldiers in India, Mr. Sidhu on Wednesday hit back, saying, “It was not something like a conspiracy. It was just a hug and not a Rafale deal.”
The statement came against the backdrop of allegations of corruption against the BJP-led government at the Centre in the Rafale fighter jet deal.
Talking to journalists here, Mr. Sidhu said that the issue was being blown out of proportion.
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Mr. Sidhu also accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of creating hurdles in the Kartarpur Sahib Gurdwara corridor issue.
Meanwhile, former Akali Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said, “Now, when the spokesperson for the Pakistan Foreign Ministry had disclosed that no official communication had been sent to India for opening of the Kartarpur corridor, Mr. Sidhu should tell the people why he constantly asserted that Pakistan was right and India was wrong for not reciprocating a gesture, which was never made.”